a blue sky are pictures of dignity and
grace.

Bald eagles, ospreys, hawks, and buzzards give us daily
exhibitions of their powers [wrote Wilbur Wright]. The buzzards
were the most numerous, and were the most persistent soarers.
They apparently never flapped except when it was absolutely
necessary, while the eagles and hawks usually soared only when
they were at leisure. Two methods of soaring were employed. When
the weather was cold and damp and the wind strong the buzzards
would be seen soaring back and forth along the hills or at the
edge of a clump of trees. They were evidently taking advantage of
the current of air flowing upward over these obstructions. On
such days they were often utterly unable to soar, except in these
special places. But on warm clear days when the wind was light
they would be seen high in the air soaring in great circles.
Usually, however, it seemed to be necessary to reach a height of
several hundred feet by flapping before this style of soaring
became possible. Frequently a great number of them would begin
circling in one spot, rising together higher and higher till
finally they would disperse, each gliding off in whatever
direction it wished to go. At such times other buzzards only a
short distance away found it necessary to flap frequently in
order to maintain themselves. But when they reached a point
beneath the circling flock they began to rise on motionless
wings. This seemed to indicate that rising columns of air do not
exist everywhere, but that the birds must find them. They
evidently watch each other and when one finds a rising current
the others quickly make their way to it. One day when scarce a
breath of wind was stirring on the ground we noticed two bald
eagles sailing in circling sweeps at a height of probably five
hundred feet. After a time our attention was attracted to the
flashing of some object considerably lower down. Examination with
a field-glass proved it to be a feather which one of the birds
had evidently cast. As it seemed apparent that it would come to
earth only a short distance away, some of our party started to
get it. But in a little while it was noted that the feather was
no longer falling, but on the contrary was rising rapidly. It
finally went out of sight upward. It apparently wa